The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that all but one opponent of recently expanded gambling in the state have no standing to challenge the constitutionality of casino and racino betting in court.
The court sided with one man who said he wanted to operate a casino and said his rights to do that were violated by the state allowing only certain companies to operate casinos. But the court ruled that 12 other people and the anti-gambling group The Ohio Roundtable couldn’t sue the state over racinos. The Roundtable’s Rob Walgate is disappointed, saying this closes the door to holding elected officials accountable.
“It’s clear Gov. Kasich and the Legislature have violated the Constitution. But Ohioans will never see the facts of those cases presented because the courts have slammed the door in the face of the people trying to present the facts and said that they are not granted standing.”
Walgate says his group will spend the next few days trying to come up with another way to challenge the validity of gambling at racetracks and Ohio’s four casinos.
